Liquid fuel or lubricant supply tank



June 1, 1943. T. w. CROWELL LIQUID FUEL OR LUBRICANT SUPPLY'TANK FiledMay 28, 1941 @Halma/13S Patented June 1, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE LIQUlD FUEL R LUBRICANT SUPPLY TANK Thomas W. Crowell, Matthews,N. C. Application May 28, 1941, Serial No. 395,657

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a liquid fuel or lubricant supply tank forengines, and is especially adapted for use on any kind of land, water orair vehicle, and has for the primary object the provision of a -deviceof this character which,

will provide a maximum amount of storage space for the liquid thereinwithout having its overall size increased over the size of conventionalstorage tanks employed for the same purpose and will prevent total lossof the liquid should the tank leak from any cause, such as being damagedfrorn a collision, vibration or penetration by a bullet or the like,consequently leaving sufiicient fluid therein for the maintenance ofoperation of the engine until such time that the device employing theengine may be brought to a selected designation.

With these and other objects in view as will become more apparent as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel featuresof construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will behereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complete understanding of my invention, reference is to be had tothe following description and accompanying drawing, in which Figure l isa side elevation partly in section illustrating a liquid storage tankconstructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line '1?2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view illustrating one ofthe check valves.

Figure 4 is a plan View illustrating the movable element of the checkvalve.

Referring in detail to the drawing, the numeral 5 indicates a liquidtank constructed of any material suitable for the purpose and of anyselected size. The tank 5 includes vertical walls 6, a top wall 'I, anda bottom wall 8. Said walls may be of integral construction or securedtogether in any well known manner so as to render the tank leak-proof.

Arranged within the tank are transverse and longitudinally extendingpartitions 9 and I0 dividing said tank into a plurality of liquidcompartments II. The partitions may be joined onto the walls of the tankin any well known manner so that said compartments will each beleak-proof and noncommunicative except at their upper ends in closeproximity to the top wall I of the tank. The partitions 9 and IG areported, as shown at I2, so that in filling the tank from a common fillspout I 3 the overflow from one compartment to another may beaccomplished for the purpose of filling each compartment to a selectedlevel. The location of the ll spout I3 may be varied to suit diil'erentrequirements or application of the tank to different devices.

A closure cap Ill is provided for the fill spout.

The tank 5 is provided with a stand-pipe I5 arranged interiorh7 thereofor exteriorly if desired. However, the stand-pipe I5 is shown in thedrawing as being arranged within one of the compartments and terminatesat its upper end adjacent the top wall 'I of the tank. The stand-pipeadjacent its lower end is shouldered, as shown at I6, to rest upon thebottom Wall 8 of the tank while the lower screw threaded end I'I thereofextends through an opening provided in the bottom wall 8 and hasthreaded thereon a packing nut I8 to engage with the bottom wall andcooperate with the shoulder I6 in providing a leak-proof connectionbet-Ween the stand-pipe and the tank.

The lower screw threaded end I'I of the standpipe which is arrangedexteriorly of the tank has a liquid line or pipe I9 connected theretofor the purpose of conveying the liquid of the tank to an engine.

A plurality of branch pipes 2U are connected with the stand-pipe I5 alimited distance above the bottom wall 8 of the tank and extends intothe various compartments terminating in downwardly directed ends 2I towhich are connected check valves 22 that will permit liquid from thecompartments to flow to the stand-pipe but which will prevent the liquidfrom re-entering the compartments from the stand-pipe.

Check valves 22 of a conventional construction are arranged in thebranch pipes 20, so that should any one of said branch pipes be brokenat the line of drainage to any one of the compartments, the flow ofliquid from the stand-pipe and any of the undamaged compartments will beprevented from wasting from the damaged compartment and the damagedportion of the branch pipe.

This arrangement of check valves will prevent liquid from flowing fromone compartment to another by way of the different branch pipes and thestand-pipe, but as stated, the liquid of any compartment may readilyflow to the standpipe for passage therefrom to the engine.

Each check valve 22 consists of a substantially cup-shaped housing 23having a reduced screw threaded end 24 for connection with a branchpipe. The other end of the cup-shaped housing is internally screwthreaded to receive a ported plug 25, acting as a seat for a check valveelement 26 in the form of a disc having its periphery provided with aseries of notches 21. Further, the cup-shaped housing 23 is providedwith an internal shoulder 28 acting to limit the distance in which thevalve element 26 may move oi its seat and when disengaged from said seatliquid may ow into the housing 23 by passing through the various notches2l and the ported plug 25.

A gauge rod 29 may extend through the top Wall 'l of the tank and enterthe upper portion of the stand-pipe and is equipped with a oat 3l)adapted to move the gauge rod 29 in accordance with the level of theliquid within the tank and consequently permit a person to readilydetermine the approximate amount of liquid in said tank.

When the stand-pipe I5 is located exteriorly of the tank it is securedthereto in any well known manner and the various branch pipes 22connected thereto and leading to the various compartments may entercertain walls of the tank.

Thus it will be seen from the foregoing description taken in connectionwith the drawing, that a very eiicient supply tank has been providedthat may be easily installed in any type of vehicle for the purpose ofsupplying the engine thereof either with liquid fuel or lubricant.Furthermore it will be seen that should the tank at any given point bedamaged as to cause leakage only the compartment where the damage occurswill lose its contents, consequently leaving the liquid within the othercompartments undisturbed and useable by the engine.

As before statedy the tank may be constructed of any material suitablefor the purpose and its design or shape may be varied to facilitate itsinstallation, as for instance, the tank may be of such a shape that itmay be installed in a wing of an aeroplane or some other type of yingmachine.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it Will be understood that minor changes in construction,combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from`the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is:

In a liquid supply for engines, a tank, a plurality of connectedpartitions dividing the tank into a plurality of compartments and eachpartition having an opening connecting said compartments with each otheradjacent an upper wall of the tank, a stand pipe located in one of thecompartments and including means for connecting thereof to an engine andextending through the bottom wall of the tank, branch pipes connectedwith the stand pipe adjacent the lower end thereof and each having afree end portion curved to extend downwardly and terminating within acompartment at a selected dista-nce above the bottom wall of the tank, acup-shaped depending housing secured on each of said ends of the branchpipes and having an internal shoulder and a screw threaded lower end, aported plug threaded in each of the housings and spaced in closerelation to the bottom wall of the tank, and a notched disc-like valveelement operating in each of said housings between the shoulder and theplug to provide a check valve to permit flow of liquid from thecompartment to the stand pipe and preventing reverse flow of liquid fromthe stand-pipe to said compartment and from one compartment to another.

THOMAS VJ. CROSVELL.

